- Joined
- Mar 26, 2007
- Messages
- 2,798
However you do it, they came out nice. Got any other pics of the top one in the first photo?
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Making another knife for just general abusing :)
- Thread starter Myal
- Start date
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2003
- Messages
- 1,850
OK , got some details to work on , but for a general idea of what can be done in a back yard with primitve gear to produce knives that suit all kinds of hands and needs 
a family pic
the top one is my new general beater , the midle one is one I made to show off what a backyard made knife can actually do , a few people local have see ny my pics and have said
quote
"we arent calling bulls#!t on you exaclty , but we would like to see it done ourselves , it sounds and looks too much like funny business to just believe outright"
/quote
so I tried out a chunk of desert oak to see what its like as handle material , and used a scrap of HSS that is basicly a shiv now
the bottom knife is a mini survival type knife , even got a real sawback even if it is tiny ... its for my brothers girlfriend , little beastie is deadly sharp , itll whittle shavings off a milk tin or turn it over and its a functioning mini hacksaw only good for cutting stuff thats small but itll cut steel bar ( just slower than a fullsize hacksaw ) and keep on coming back for more ... basicly just a handy tool to have , the sheoak handles just look nice I recon too , I love that grain , its hard to believe it sells for $50 - $90 a ton for firewood here ...
a family pic
the top one is my new general beater , the midle one is one I made to show off what a backyard made knife can actually do , a few people local have see ny my pics and have said
quote
"we arent calling bulls#!t on you exaclty , but we would like to see it done ourselves , it sounds and looks too much like funny business to just believe outright"
/quote
so I tried out a chunk of desert oak to see what its like as handle material , and used a scrap of HSS that is basicly a shiv now
the bottom knife is a mini survival type knife , even got a real sawback even if it is tiny ... its for my brothers girlfriend , little beastie is deadly sharp , itll whittle shavings off a milk tin or turn it over and its a functioning mini hacksaw only good for cutting stuff thats small but itll cut steel bar ( just slower than a fullsize hacksaw ) and keep on coming back for more ... basicly just a handy tool to have , the sheoak handles just look nice I recon too , I love that grain , its hard to believe it sells for $50 - $90 a ton for firewood here ...
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2003
- Messages
- 1,850
Thankyou
HSS is more than a solution I reckon its an addiction ...
OTOH , my first heat treats were done in the wood fired heater , the fire in a box we got to keep the house warm in winter , the glass door made watching the color change easy
.. quench was done in a bucket of vege oil , and temper done in our electric oven , now I am hi tech , I got my own forge in the backyard , heat treat is still done by color / magnet for critical , but its working OK for me too , an early machete I made chipped out when it came into conflict repeatedly with the ends of a steel pipe , but besides that , no hassles .
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2003
- Messages
- 1,850
The knife kinda just found itself another home , nother knife in the works begining this arvo , to replace it
Ive got a knife here that I used polyurethane to stick the slabs on thats 8 yr old at least , the glue sticks well .
I can say from past experience tho that the stuff sticks , and sticks well , that its not brittle but like rubber is kind of bonus , it lets the knife flex enough that wooden handle scales will break first before the glue lets go ( BTDT with a knife made from leaf spring )
to get a handle off once its glued on and the glue is cured , its a matter of either belting a knife thru the glue between the slab and the tang , if there is enough room , usualy there isnt , and its a case of having to grind the whole lot off
I think there is maybe a +ve to it also that there is not stress points because of a rigidly fixed handle the tan and blade flex more evenly , probably meaning less chance of a kink type bend or a break under stress . My theory tho , I could be way wrong , Im working on a kinda impact and stress absorbing kinda line here tho ....
I figure if the glue hold the glass into cars so well for so long under the conditions it does , ( heat , wet , cold etc with the different expansion and contraction rates of steel and glass ) its got to do OK on a knife handle
its worth noting tho that after I grind the handle into shape the glue has a porous kind of finish to it , this may be a hygiene concern if the knife isnt kept clean and is used for food prep ... but then not cleaning a knife and using it for food prep isnt good for hygene anyway I spose ...
anyway , its rude crude and ugly way to do it but its also kinda easy , and has so far worked well for me over the last 8 yrs I been using it anyway .
Ive got a knife here that I used polyurethane to stick the slabs on thats 8 yr old at least , the glue sticks well .
I can say from past experience tho that the stuff sticks , and sticks well , that its not brittle but like rubber is kind of bonus , it lets the knife flex enough that wooden handle scales will break first before the glue lets go ( BTDT with a knife made from leaf spring )
to get a handle off once its glued on and the glue is cured , its a matter of either belting a knife thru the glue between the slab and the tang , if there is enough room , usualy there isnt , and its a case of having to grind the whole lot off
I think there is maybe a +ve to it also that there is not stress points because of a rigidly fixed handle the tan and blade flex more evenly , probably meaning less chance of a kink type bend or a break under stress . My theory tho , I could be way wrong , Im working on a kinda impact and stress absorbing kinda line here tho ....
I figure if the glue hold the glass into cars so well for so long under the conditions it does , ( heat , wet , cold etc with the different expansion and contraction rates of steel and glass ) its got to do OK on a knife handle
its worth noting tho that after I grind the handle into shape the glue has a porous kind of finish to it , this may be a hygiene concern if the knife isnt kept clean and is used for food prep ... but then not cleaning a knife and using it for food prep isnt good for hygene anyway I spose ...
anyway , its rude crude and ugly way to do it but its also kinda easy , and has so far worked well for me over the last 8 yrs I been using it anyway .